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Many thought this camera would never see the light of day, or it would
do so as some strange film-digital hybrid with interchangeable backs. In
2004, however, Nikon gave the world one last hurrah in its long lineup
of film cameras
– the F6. The camera differs from its predecessors in many ways –
firstly, it’s the only single-digit (pro) F body to lack interchangeable
prisms; apparently this feature was so seldom used on the F5 that it
was dropped. (Too bad, because the super-high eyepoint sports finder for
that camera was a thing of beauty; easily the largest and brightest
finder I’ve ever seen on a 35mm SLR.) It also revered to the F4 and
previous designs that made the vertical grip a detachable unit, as
opposed to the built-in on the F5. One can only suppose the F5 required a
built in because of its insatiable hunger for AA batteries. The F6 uses
a pair of CR123A lithiums; it lasts a bit longer, but two of those
things still costs quite a bit more than a whole set of AAs for the F5.